I cut my video streaming bill in half, and so can you

[RV_]

I am not limited by Mobile streaming as many of you are. We do stream however and we just got rid of Paramount Plus, the worst software and customer service of any streaming services I have ever used. You can't rewind or fast forward without seeing commercials over again so to get to the right spot I may need to watch six minutes of commercials. I get CBS OTA at no charge and can't watch everything on all of our services. I did buy a year of another and I am letting that run out. I don't have to worry about them auto renewing as I have learned to not update payments to companies I don't want to renew. And we change that card at least once a year.

I am dropping several more. We realized that since the Pandemic free new theater releases online for subscribers and in theaters are about over. So HBO Max and two others are also on the chopping block.  Why? Because we can subscribe for a month and binge the shows we think we want to watch then cancel. So that would be under 10 bucks versus $55-$225.00 a year in payments.

Excerpt:

"You're spending too much on video streaming services. Here's how to cut your bill dramatically, without cutting out the TV shows you love, in 5 steps."

THe article covers each of the following steps in detail:

1. Make a list, check it twice

2. Take advantage of offers from your mobile provider

3. Take advantage of offers from your credit card company

4. Cut your monthly cost with an annual subscription

5. Use the "subscribe-binge-cancel" strategy

 

https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/home-entertainment/i-cut-my-video-streaming-bill-in-half-and-so-can-you/?ftag=TREc64629f&bhid={%24external_id}&mid={%24MESSAGE_ID}&cid={%24contact_id}

 

[dartmouth01]

Another trick I use is to go in on streaming services with friends/fam, and just charge everyone an annualized shared fee once a year. 

[RV_]

Dartmouth, That could work too.

More ideas - US Mobile is not nearly as cheap as they were anymore but when I went with US Mobile they offered to pay for most of our HULU Disney package by reducing the price of our third line by $14.99. They do that only for three lines and up. Now they cost about the same as Verizon whose towers they use, but we are grandfathered into our prices as long as we do not change anything on our services with them. We pay $61 and change for all three unlimited lines. We never needed three but the third line is essentially free since the third line only costs $11 dollars a month and the other two $25 each. Try pricing three (Not four) lines with any carrier with unlimited data and calls and texts. No free phones though but we buy our own anyway now. So we can switch any time with no payments for a phone due.

We also put in a roof corner digital antenna to get OTA (Over The Air) broadcasts. I attached it to a one in, four out,  Electroline EDA-2400 4-Port Cable TV HDTV Signal Booster/Amplifier TV amp page . The house had cable TV coax running to each room so I connected the four outside ends to the Amp and all rooms have 42 channels on the cables already installed. We get 42 channels and all the major networks without cable or paying for individual channels. We get five LPB channels all different and all in 1080i full HD when the content is also full HD which is most of the time. The networks are all 1080 full HD too! The sub-channels like METV etc that show old shows are all pretty good but sometimnes do drop down to 480 Standard definition which seemed great in the 60s but blurry today.

As RVrs we loved the OTA when we were close enough to town.

So to be honest we can get by with OTA alone but prefer having Netflix, Hulu/Disney bundle, and Sling TV Blue which gives us all the cable channels and cable news 24/7. I would drop Disney and save there but Lynda watches Dr. Pol on Disney but other than that Disney botched Thor and Dr. Strange which were my favorite comics as a kid along with the rest of Marvel except Spiderman and Hulk whose comics I did not care if I read or not. DC had little for me. So I am ditching Disney as soon as I can. I can get all the Nat Geo and nature programs on PBS and Sling TV. We have Free DVRs for out OTA channels and for Sling TV programs for 50 hours free. Sling is way cheaper than the other TV services like HULU Live TV, YouTube etc. If Netflix starts charging for a lot of new programming like Disney and the others they are gone too. Prime is still pretty good and we would have that for shopping and Kindle books regardless so I don't count that. But we only do the basic free kindle books with prime and no unlimited music. It is much cheaper to buy a book every month or three for $.99 - $7.99 than pay $120 bucks a year for Kindle unlimited as I have ten years of reading already saved cheap or free on my account.

So Prime stays no matter and likely Hulu Sling TV, and our oldest one Netflix that we started using for DVDs by mail, then BluRays, and then online with our Wii console on a Netflix program DVD to stream as our first streaming experience. HBO Max is going too and only bingeing. See we are retired and don't go out a bunch so no work buddies with whom to discuss shows.

I also have collected hundreds of Blue Ray and 4k Blu Ray disks at yard sales and thrift shops for a buck or three to five for 4k BluRays. Lots of folks are ditching their disks and just keeping their digital versions.

So lots of choices besides all the expensive streaming services at retail.